Yarn-changer for circular-knitting machines.



H. H. WEST. YARN CHANGER FOR CIRCULAR KNITTING MACHINES. APPLICATION FILED DEC. 21, 1906.

965,351 A Patented July 26, 1910.

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Patented July 26, 1910. 965,85

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YARN-CHANGER FOR CIRCULAR-KNITTING MACHINES.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Application filed December 21, 1908.

Patented July 26, 1910.

Serial No. 468,577.

To all whom it may concern: I

Be it known that I, HARRY H. \Vns'r, a citizen of the United States,residing at'Plymouth, in the county of Luzerne and State of Pennsylvania, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Yarn-Changers for Circular-Knitting Machines; and I do declare the following to be a full, clear, and exact description of the invention, such as will enable others skilled in the art to which it appertains to make and use the same.

My invention relates to circular knitting machines, and especially to that type employed in knittin stockings, socks, etc., the invention being directed particularly to an attachment for said machines adapted to take care of the idle threads in striped work.

It is designed especially as an improvement on the structure shown on my Patent No. 926,629. In machines of this character, heretofore, it has been common to permit the idle threads to travel with the fabric and sever them afterward, in order to obtain a smooth interior for the sock or stocking. Again, the float yarn loops have been held in a suitable manner and prevented from twisting by attachments which act to engage each loop as it is formed and throw it ofl when completed.- In all of these constructions there is a considerable waste of yarn, and in the former manner of knitting the yarn frequently became entangled and drew the fabric up in the needle cylinder so far as to injure the action of the needles and ossibly cause rupture thereof and of the sinkers. Not only is this method dangerous to the machine but it also entails additional expense in the manufacture of the sock or stocking in that these loo 5 which are twisted and entangled have to 0 cut by hand.

It is the object of my invention to avoid these difliculties, and particularly speaking, the invention consists in means for automatically cuttin the threads of each loop as it is formed by the rise and fall of the thread feed arms.

In order to enable persons versed in the art to clearly understand the connection of the attachment with the type of machine upon which it is employed, I have illustrated in the accompanying drawings a considerable portion of that part of the machine which is adjacent the needle cylinder and which co-acts with the attachment in the carrying out of my invention.

In the drawings, Figure 1 is a vertical longitudinal section of a portion of a circular knitting machine with my attachment shown applied thereto; Fig. 2 is a similar section of the upper part of the needle cylinder taken on line 22 of Fig. 3; Fig. 3 is a top plan view; Fig. 4 is a vertical sectional view of the attachment; Fig. 5 is a horizontal section view on line 55 of Fig. 4; Fig. 6 is a vertical transverse section on line 6-6 of Fig. 4.

In order to connect up the attachment with the co-acting parts of the machine, I shall first describe the mechanism which forms the operating connections with the attachment. I have shown a gear 1, which may be connected in any suitable manner to a source of power and which is shown as meshing with the needle cylinder gear 2, journaled to rotate upon the frame of the machine 3 and having connected to it the usual needle cylinder 4:, preferabl of the type used in machines of this 0 aracter. The needle cylinder in this instance is surrounded by the stationary cam cylinder 5 connected to the frame in any suitable manner, not shown, and carrying at its upper end the customary silikers 6, and in its grooved sides-the needles 7 Suitably disposed, as regards their relation with the needle cylinder and the other co-acting mechanism, are the thread guiding arms 8 which are carried by the pivoted supporting plate or latch uard 9 and are held in thelr respective fee ing positions by the springs 10. These arms are manipulated in this mstance by levers 11 which are controlled by a pattern wheel or any other suitable mechanism, not shown herein as it forms no part of the present invention. As is usual, these arms receive the thread through eyes 12 formed in their outer ends, from the guide late 13 which receives the thread from suitable bobbins. Normally, when a different colored thread is thrown into action to be engaged by the needles and to possibly break the threads, which break may occur at any point and may be at such a point as to cause a defect in the fabric. In order to obviate these difliculties, I provide an attachment which is secured by the screws 14 to the upper part of the plate 9, and constitutes a supporting arm or bracket 15 having depending therefrom at its forward end a foot-piece 16,v which is approximately U-shaped in cross-section with its lower leg' 17 extending beyond the upper leg 18, and provided with a longitudinal groove 19 adapted to receive the rib 20 of the presser foot 21. This latter member is secured to the leg 17 by a screw 22 which has surrounding its upper end a tension spring 23 adapted to bear against the upper face of the foot and hold it yieldingly 1n engagement with the rib 20 in the groove 19. Intermediate the tension screw and the forward end of the foot there is a hardened pin 24: screwed into the le 17 and passing through an aperture 25' in the plate. This pin is adapted to prevent excessive binding of the threads, as will be hereinafter described. The forward end of the leg 17 is rounded off on its end and at one side, as at 26, and the forward end of the presser foot is raised atapproximately a 45 angle, as shown at 27, and is made free of the rib 20. It is also slightly offset with regard to the longitudinal line thereof, so as to readily engage the thread as it passes from the thread guiding arm 8 when raised.

Extending along the side of the foot-piece l6 and secured thereto by the screw 28 is a knife 29, having the sharpened and beveled edge which covers the space in between the presser foot 21 and the leg 17, so asv to engage the threads extending from the fabric to the lifting arm and to the clamp respectively, leaving short ends, only, of both the yarn which has been taken out of work and the new yarn attached to the fabric.

The ring 9 which supports the bobbin guide, thread guiding arms and the attachment, is preferably pivoted to a part of the frame 3, as shown in Fig. 2, the pivotal lug 31 of the ring being entered in a recess 32 in the frame and havin wright-angular end formed with a rounde corner and adapted to he engaged by a spring pressed pin 33 carried in a socket 3 1 in the frame. This in when engaged with the under side of the ug is in the rear of the pivoted bolt 35, and therefore, holds the forward end of the ring and the attachment in proper working position with respect to the needle cylinder and its accompanying parts. When raised, the weight of the ring and its rts is suflicient to. maintain the structure in up-right position against the tension of the spring. When the attachment is in normal worki position over the needle cylinder, the eg 17 constitutes a guard which prevents the 'free former-l fabric from rising in the cylinder above the point at which the fabric is formed. Secured to the top of the arm 15 and project-- ing laterallytherefrom is a finger 36, having projecting downwardly therefrom in paral elism with the side of the member 16, a pin 37 which is adapted to be engaged by the threads as they pass from the guiding arms to the needles. This structure properly guides the yarn and insures the proper placing of the threads upon the needles so that the splicing will be in a vertical line in the rear of the sock or stocking whereby the product is improved considerably. ithout this guiding finger and pin the threads enter the needles or are engaged by the neodles at different places, thus making the splicing irregular and not in a vertical line.

In operation, when a thread is thrown down into working position by one of the arms 8 it is picked up by the needles and carried around and around, as the cylinder moves, underneath the leg 17, until this thread is thrown out for the insertion of another different colored thread by the pattern wheel. When this occurs the thread which was first put into use in passing around with its end attached to the fabric, is engaged by the underneath side of theangular extension 27 of the presser foot 21 so as to guide it intothe tension groove 19 where it will be held taut against any feeding action and will be pulled against the knife edge 30 and severed. This end of the loop isnow free and travels with the fabric. The opposite end which is held between the presser foot and the leg 17 is maintained in this position until this thread is again thrown into action by the pattern wheel upon its second introduction into the fabric. As a working thread it is, of course, picked up by the needles as is usual, at a point ,adjacent the feeding arm which carries it, the loose end still being held between thepresser foot and the leg 17 until it is draggedaround the rounded edge 26 of the leg and pulled out of itsengagement with the attachment. When this thread is again thrown out it is cut off as before. For instance, I have illustrated blue, pink and red threads, a, b and a, respectively, upon Fig. 3, with the pink thread 6 running directly to the fabric and in idle position and with the thread 0 in idle position and shown severed at its end. The pink thread is about to be severed by the knife and the blue thread is being operated upon by the needles, as shown, and has its separated end held between' the presser cot and the leg. Upon a still further revolution of the needle cylinder the blue thread will have its free end withdrawn from the attachment and the pink thread will be entirely severed and have that side of its loop also free.

From the foregoing description, taken in and the minor details of construction may I be resorted to without departing horn the principle or sacrificing any of the advantages of this invention as defined in the appended claims.

Having thus dmcribed and a, 3 the nature of my invention, what I claim as new and desire to secure by letters-Patent, is

1. An attachment for knitting machines comprising a support' bracket, an approm'mately U-shaped foot member having one leg thereof secured to one end of said bracket, the other le said depending leg icing longer than mid attached leg andhaving a longitudinal groove in its inner face, a resser foot yieldably connected with the inner face of said long leg and having a longitudinally extending rib for engaging the groove in said leg, said presser foot having its flee end bent upwardly, and means for preventing resser foot fi'om excessively binding "the threads passed under it.

depending therefrom,

2. An attachment for machines comprisin a supporting bracket, an approximate y U-shaped foot member ha one leg thereof secured to the end of sai bracket, and the other leg depending there from, said depending leg being longer than said attached leg an having a longitudinal groove on its inner face, an apex-turd resser oot having a longitudinal rib on its lower face for en the groove in said leg, a. screw bolt loomly through said resser foot and engaged with said leg, a spring coiled on said bolt between the hwd thereof and said presser foot to yieldably hold the latter in engagement with said leg, and a pin extending upwardly from said leg in advance of said bolt and passing loosely through said resser foot to prevent excessive binding of the foot on the threads passed thereunder.

In testimony whereof I have hereunto wt my hand in presence of two subscribing wit nesses. 

